RockStar!

Mom snagged these pics of Taylor and thought they were tooooooo cute so I had to post them up!

More pics and birth story...

Hopefully I can get this all in before the next feeding. This kid sure likes to EAT!

I'll start with photos in case I can't get to the rest, at least you can see the little guy!

Taylor meeting her brother for the first time.

Not so sure.
Sleeping peacefully






Wearing their Big Sister/Little Brother shirts.

First time in the swing! I'll have to find the photo of Taylor that looks almost identical to this one :)

Everything is going well, Taylor is slowly getting adjusted and we're getting used to having a newborn around here again. I forgot how small they are and he makes Taylor look so big! Mom's flight came in last night so we're enjoying having her company as well as the extra set of hands.

Here's my birth story for those who weren't getting the Facebook play-by-play!

I went into the hospital at 5AM, got all of the paperwork filled out and they got my IV started by 5:45. Around 8AM they came in and started my pitocin to boost my contractions. I was having some regularly already but they weren't very strong, or close together. The doctor came in around 9 and checked me, I was 2.5cm dilated so she broke my water and the waiting began!

I slowly progressed and was at 4cm at around 11am, I wasn't in a huge amount of pain yet, but went ahead and opted to get my epidural since I could. I remembered it took a while to actually get it last time and figured I might be hurting by then. It took about an hour, but they came and I got my happy juice installed and was feeling pretty good, except I was still at 4cm!

About an hour later I started feeling extremely nauseous. It was okay as long as my eyes were shut so I just kept them closed and fought it. Two hours later I finally couldn't hold back anymore and started vomiting uncontrollably right when the nurse walked in. She said,"oh you're vomiting, that's good!" Then finished by telling me that vomiting is often a sign you are getting close. Then she asked me if I wanted something for it. It never dawned on me to ask them for something for the nausea, so one injection into my IV and 30 seconds later I was back feeling like a champ again.

I had been stuck at 4 for about 3.5 hours and I was losing hope, then she came in at around 3:30 I think and I was at 5. At 4:45 I was at 7, so she said she'd be back in a little bit since I had told her that I went from 6-10 pretty fast with Taylor.

Both the nurse and the doc came back at 5:15. I had been feeling a little rectal pressure so I told them I thought I might be ready. It was hard to tell though because my epidural was REALLY strong this time! So they checked me and she said, oh! There's a head! So they started prepping everything to push.

Doc was washing up and the nurse said to wait for the next contraction then we'd start pushing (this process took about 45 minutes with Taylor to get her crowning). She was getting things cleaned up and I finally had a contraction (they weren't coming very fast, nor were they very strong) and I gave a push which I couldn't really tell if I was pushing or not and she looked over and said STOP! He was crowning already, lol.

The doc came in and they finished getting me prepped. I told her it would be funny if he was born at the same time as Taylor. She came at 5:28pm. She told me she didn't think I would make it that long (it was 5:22). So she finished prepping me and the next contraction I had she said push! I did what I thought was pushing and out popped his head! She had me give one more push and his body slid right out ( a minute early at 5:27!). I had one small tear at the top, but didn't need an episiotomy!! They joked that I was made to birth babies, lol. I joked and told Drew, GREAT! LETS DO IT AGAIN!

They cleaned him up and did all his post birth stuff which took ENTIRELY too long (like 20 minutes!) before we got to hold him. They left him with us for an hour and a half (that's what took me so long to post after he was born) and then took him to get cleaned up. He has been nursing like a champ and is getting cuter and cuter every day!

So that's how little Carson arrived into the world.

Tomorrow we need to take him to get his weight and bilirubin levels checked. Though I imagine they will be great because he eats like a little piggy and has not had any yellowing at all. "I also have to get him enrolled as a dependent for the health insurance. Wednesday Taylor has music class and Drew is going to stay home with Carson so Taylor can have some Mommy and Grandma time at class! I'm sure they will want to see him, but it's a little early to have him exposed to a bunch of kids just yet I think.

Otherwise not too many plans this week except to take it easy, recuperate and bond with our little man!

Pics!

I'll post the birth story later because I need to get some rest but wanted to get pictures up for everybody!

Carson Andrew White
Aug 26th, 2009
5:27pm
8lbs on the nose
20.5"!

Eviction notice has been SERVED!

Well, had my appointment this morning. I'm dilated to 2cm which made the doc happy (though she'd like to see me closer to 3). She is having me come in on Wednesday morning at 5AM to get things rolling. She'll come around 7:30 and break my water and we'll go from there! I was going to see if we could do it Thursday, but I guess she keeps Thurs and Fri reserved for scheduled surgeries so that left Tuesday or Wednedsay.

So it looks like WEDNESDAY is the day! I'm pretty excited to have an end in sight, a bit nervous too, but SOOO ready! Will keep everyone posted!

39 Weeks!

Well, still here and counting down. 39 weeks today. Here's my pics!




Been having some contractions tonight, an hour at 10 minutes apart, 45 minutes at 5 minutes apart, then they stop. Hopefully one of these times they'll keep going.

I'll keep you posted on what's going on, and I'll definitely post after my appt. Monday!

Nursery and Contractions

Well, I thought last night MIGHT be the night. I was feeling nauseous all day and had lots of pain and pressure. Around 6pm I started having contractions every 5 minutes, though they weren't incredibly painful they definitely were different from the Braxton-Hicks contractions I had been having. They started low in my abdomen and wrapped around my back with a cramping sensation.

I called the nurse and she said to lay down (which I was already doing) and drink some water and if they get stronger over the next hour to go to L&D. Of course I hung up the phone with her had two more, then they fizzled out. I had a couple of more before bed, but nothing consistent and even got a pretty good nights sleep.

So, today, back to the wait!

We got up and I took Taylor to Jumpin' Jupiter (a building full of bounce houses/castles), for playgroup. She had a bad experience last time so I wasn't sure how she would do, but after about 15 minutes she opened up a little and at least started running around playing with some other things that were on the floor, though she didn't care to go in the bounce castles again. I went in one with her and down a slide but that was enough for her. Maybe next time it will only take her 10 minutes to get playing! We stayed for an hour and a half before heading home.

Drew was suppose to do a 5K this morning but it was raining so it got canceled. So while I took Taylor to JJ, he stayed home and mowed the lawn and finally hung the valences in the kids room. I was debating if I wanted to do the split theme like the rest of the room or get a neutral valence to put across the 3 windows. I figured since I already had the two that matched their bedroom sets I'd start there and if I thought it looked incredibly tacky I can always change it later. I don't know, what do you think???

I still need to get letters for baby boy's name to go over his crib but I want to wait until it's on his birth certificate before I do it, lol. Also not sure if you can see the pink writing under Taylors name, but it says "Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice", and I have one in blue that says Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails that will go under his name. I'm pretty excited! I also got them matching first year picture frames that I will fill with photos eventually!


No big plans for the weekend, just waiting until Monday for my appointment, maybe finish hanging shelves in the craft room and getting the room ready for Mom next weekend! We're almost down to the final week! YAY!!!!!!!!!!

Will keep everyone posted with what's going on.

-Jen

Today's Appointment

Well, another week of no progress. BP was 103/64, I gained yet another pound (yikes!), baby's HR was 138.

She did say she was willing to induce me next week if I wanted so at least that gives me some light at the end of the tunnel.

After thinking about it I'm going to see what things look like at my next appointment. If I haven't dilated any more and she doesn't think the baby is getting to big for a vaginal delivery, I'll hold out one more week.

If I HAVE dilated more and she can strip my membranes I'll have her do that and if that doesn't work then I'll decide on having her induce at the end of the week or the beginning of the next week. At least if I'm dilated some the chances of needing a C-section after being an induction is a little lower.

What I'm really hoping is that he'll just decide to come on his own before next week and I wont have to make any decisions!

In the meantime the plan for the week is I'm meeting Betty and maybe another friend at Starbucks tomorrow at 10:30 to hang out and chit chat for a while. I'm not sure if I'll take Taylor yet or not, Drew will be home so I might get out for a bit while I can. Wednesday we have music class. Taylor's blisters are pretty much gone and it's been a week since her fever broke so I'll call the teacher tomorrow and make sure it's okay if we come or if she'd rather us hold off for another week.

I need to call another one of my friends to meet sometime this week as well with Taylor. We've been trying to get together for a few weeks but things keep coming up and we have to cancel our plans.

Otherwise that's about it.. just more and more waiting!

Well I'm exhausted, haven't been sleeping well so I'm off to bed! We'll keep you posted. I figure worst case scenario it will be another 2 weeks. I can do this!!!

38 weeks

Kind of busy, but wanted to upload some pics of my 38 week belly! Yep, still here, still pregnant. I'll post more later!

Hand Foot & Mouth Disease

So after the fever broke Tuesday morning I noticed she had a rash on her feet and in the pit of her arm. She still had it on Wednesday so I kept her home from music class and called to schedule her a doc appointment, this morning was the soonest they could get her in.

Sure enough she has Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease, though luckily it seems to be fairly mild as far as symptoms. There were no noticeable blisters in, or around her mouth, and while her feet have gone from a flat rash to having some raised blisters and she's gotten a few on her hands as well it's not as bad as I've seen in a lot of the photos.

I had heard that it was really bad for newborns, but the doctor said that it's no worse than any other virus and the only one they really worry about in pregnant women is Fifth's Disease which this is not. I googled the CDC website so here's the link for what they have to say:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/enterovirus/hfmd-qa.htm#8

As much as I'm ready to have this baby NOW from the pain, now I'm hoping he holds off another few days to give a little more time for Taylor to get better as apparently the first week is the most contagious. In the meantime I've been lysoling everything I can find and keeping Taylor's hands washed. I'm sure I've already gotten it at this point so I'm trying not to worry about it. We'll just have to keep a close eye on the baby when he gets here for symptoms.

How's that for fantastic timing?????

OB Appt, and a sicky.

Went to my OB appointment and the good news is there is progress, however little it may be! I'm "almost 1 cm" dilated. My BP 110/63, I gained a pound, baby sounds good, and I'm measuring right on track.

She did say she wont let me go much past my due date and I asked her if I was dilated any more next week if she would consider stripping my membranes and she said she could do that (not that she would, but we'll see). The pain has been getting worse and worse, so as soon as she's willing to help me out, I'm there. I spent most of yesterday trying not to move and in tears with the shooting pains. I'm feeling kind of depressed about it because I enjoyed my pregnancy with Taylor so much and with this one I'm in pain, pain, and more pain (at least for the last month). I hate to be a complainer and I want to LOVE and enjoy this time, but YIKES!

Well, we'll see. My next appointment is next Monday at 10:15. Who knows, maybe I wont make it until then, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

While I was there Drew sent me a message to tell me Taylor had a 102 degree fever. I got home and she's been snuggling with me for a few hours dozing on and off. Her temp went up to 104, and I gave her more Motrin (Drew had given her some this morning). I finally tried putting her in her crib and she fell asleep in there. She doesn't seem to have any other symptoms at the moment (what's with this kid and her high fevers with nothing else??), though I can hear her swallowing like she might be a bit nauseous. We'll see I guess, poor baby.

Nothing else to report really. Drew got the garage cleaned out this weekend and once we find a new home for a few things we should be able to park 2 cars in there again.. yay!

We have music class on Wednesday, but we'll see how Taylor is feeling. Suppose to meet a friend on Thursday that we haven't seen in a while, and otherwise no big plans for the weekend. Just playing the waiting game now!

Hope all is well with everyone!

Visit from good friends

Yesterday we had a visit from our friends from England! The Sinkus family, that lived 2 doors down from us (Drew and Bryan worked together also) are stationed in New Mexico now and stopped to visit on their way back from Ohio. We only got to see them for a handful of hours since Drew couldn't get the day off work, but it was good times and nice to catch up with them!

Here's some pictures from the day.

We started off meeting at IHOP for breakfast. Taylor wanted to wear Drew's sunglasses, she's such a cool chick (with her scabby nose)!

Riley and Dominik hamming it up for the camera. I can't believe how big they are! Riley was not even 2 yet when we met him (he's 6 now) and I was there for Dom's birth 3 years ago!

After breakfast we walked over to Starbucks for a coffee.


The kids were all running around like crazy so we went out on the patio and let them have at it while we chatted.

Tonya deep in thought..

Bryan pretending I'm not taking his picture..
Taylor hopping along.

and climbing too.
Riley playing with Taylor, she thinks he's funny.

I'm not sure Drew ever knew he would be a master of the hair clippy!Kid Mauled!


Riley and his best "mean" face
Speaking of clippies, Dom has something in his hair!
We call this the Sinkus face, it's hereditary.
After we left there we came back to the house to hang out a while. This photo brings back some memories of the good ol' days. The two guys dorking out to video games.
Poor Dom didn't feel well, I think the heat/humidity was too hard on his little body so he took a nap. He got sick a little later and puked all over Tonya (yuck!), good thing we had a washer and dryer standing by!

Riley and Taylor bonding over some pez they discovered on a counter.
Riley giving Taylor a hug, she's not too sure about the whole thing, but she enjoyed his visit too even though they had never met!

and that's that!! They left a little after Drew went to work to head back home. We are only about 10 hours apart so we're hoping to get together a bit more frequently, maybe meet in the middle!

Nothing else too exciting going on.. still in pain, it's getting more and more difficult to sleep and while I'm going to miss the rolls and tumbles and little body parts sticking out of my belly, I'm SO ready to walk again, and I'm looking forward to meeting this little guy! I have an appointment at 9:45 on Monday, so we'll see if anything is progressing but I'm not getting my hopes up. I'm 37 weeks tomorrow, full term!! So he's welcome to come anytime after that.

My mom booked her flight, she's coming in on my due date. Hopefully he's either here, or comes real close to that! Drew's Mom is going to come closer to the end of September. I'm looking forward to having the family and company! I wish everybody could take turns coming out to see us, that would be heaven! :)

Taylor is doing a bit beter now that her teeth are pretty much through. She's still being a bit of a stinker sometimes but I think that's part of her discovering her personality. Oh joy. We've gone 4 whole sleeps (2 naps, 2 bedtimes) without a fit so that's promising. She hasn't tried to climb out of her crib since then either! She has however been getting up for a few days at 4 and 5 AM, the first of which she didn't go back to sleep, but the last two she did, thank goodness.

Baby Boys dresser came in yesterday so that got put together and looks good! I'll take pics when I get a chance. The room is slowly but surely coming together!

So that's all for now! I'll update on Monday and let everybody know how my appointment went.

Bathtime Bubbles and battle wounds

Took some pics while Taylor was taking a bath today. We had to show off her battle wounds with various objects around the house in the last couple of days. Sunday she was running around like a crazy girl no matter how hard I tried to get her to stop and she ran so hard into the couch she bounced off, flipped around and ate the corner of her wood chair. Ouch! So that buffed her chin and gave her a fat lip.

Then Monday morning Drew took her outside to get some energy out and she fell and faceplanted into the concrete taking out her nose and adding to her birthmark on her forehead. Ouch again!

Tonight she did another dive/roll off the couch (having a fit when I told her she needed to sit down) with her face flat on the floor but luckily no additional injuries this time.

Sneaking a nibble of the letter I


She's actually showing me the teeny tiny piece she bit off of the I, you can see her molars here though!

Yay! Mama just finished singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider!Her bubble beard. She gets a kick out of putting bubbles on her chin and nose, and putting htem on my nose too.



This was actually yesterday at the Norton Art Gallery. She was being a stinker the whole time we were there (we had left a little too close to naptime so Drew could get a bit more sleep). So this was the only photo that I managed to get that wasn't really blurry from her running off.



Off to bed for me.. we have music class tomorrow, yay!